30-year eyesore being cleared to create Lincoln community garden

Volunteers are cutting through 30 years of bramble growth to create a new 2.5 acre community garden in Lincoln.

Horticultural charity Green Synergy is building the Hillside Community Garden on land behind Lincoln County Hospital, and visitors to the Lincolnshire Show on June 21 and 22 will be able see a miniature version of what’s planned in the form of a show garden.

The concept of the real garden, where local people can visit and grow produce, is being launched on Wednesday, June 21, along with a £50,000 fundraising campaign at www.fundit.buzz/greensynergy

A ‘Men in Sheds’ project to help combat loneliness among men, which is a like a male version of the Women's Institute, is also planned.

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Jodie Fedorko, assistant manager at Green Synergy, who designed the show garden to illustrate the transformation of the site, said: “We have involved our local community in creating the design for the real garden.

"Together with their help and the help of other local volunteers, we plan to construct wheelchair-accessible raised beds, large vegetable plots, fruit cages, polytunnels, therapeutic gardens, a children’s garden, a heritage orchard, wildlife areas and wildflower meadow.”

Green Synergy was formed in 2012 with the aim of setting up a city farm and large community garden for Lincoln.

Planting for the future

Mary Hollis, founder and chief executive, who will be walking the Viking Way in July to raise funds for the project, said: “Naively, I thought we would achieve this within the first six months, but finding appropriate, available land has been a big challenge.

“However, during this time, we’ve been on an amazing journey and set up seven other community gardening and therapeutic horticulture projects for Lincoln.

“Five years on, in February this year, the charity finally signed a lease on 2.5acres of derelict land behind Lincoln County Hospital. We are all absolutely overjoyed to finally have a site like this.

“The garden will provide a friendly, supportive environment, where everyone is welcome. It is a place where people can choose to simply relax, or get hands-on and learn about gardening and countryside management. It is also a place where people come together to help create a shared vision.

“We are aiming to raise a total of £50,000. Our first milestone is £10,000. This will pay for the development of the garden infrastructure, including more paths and fencing.

“The second milestone is £15,000 to enable us to develop a ‘Men in Sheds’ Project. Men’s Sheds Projects provide a safe, inclusive environment for men to come together, share and learn skills and work on practical, mechanical and woodworking projects.

“We will need to pay for equipment and materials to set the project up, and to pay for our Senior Project Officer to support the development of the project for the first twelve-month period.

“The third and final milestone is a further £25,000 to develop social enterprises. This will include a small garden nursery, selling fresh affordable produce and garden plants and an online shop selling garden crafts and items made through the Men in Shed’s project.

“Developing social enterprises will enable us generate our own income to cover our ongoing running costs and become self-sustaining. This will secure the long-term future of our charity and mean that we can continue to support local people to make positive changes to their lives and the local environment for many years to come.

“We decided to raise funds through crowdfunding as this is where lots of people give a little bit of money each. We thought that this very much matches the ethos of the garden, as it belongs to everyone.”

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Hillside Community Garden will be openly accessible and free of charge for the public to visit. It will also provide a range of therapeutic, community cohesion, educational and skills based projects specifically designed to help address the needs of the local community as well as people from across the city and surrounding areas, who are living in poverty or disadvantage.

Everyone is invited to get involved in the community garden

The masterplan is to continue to work with the local community, Lincoln County Hospital, schools, community groups and local businesses to transform it into a beautiful, edible, wildlife-friendly community garden hub for everyone to enjoy.

While there are no plans to keep animals on the site in the immediate future, the group has plenty to be getting on with, developing the gardens.

Green Synergy senior projects officer Ian Birch is currently working with groups of volunteers to tame the wild-looking site.

He said: “It’s quite a mission as there are 30 years’ worth of bramble growth, litter, and the odd sofa. It’s really great that we have an enthusiastic team of volunteers to help.

“We have already cleared about one third of the area. We keep visualising what it will be like when completed. We have had an ecological survey done and are developing a wildlife management plan to help us enhance the biodiversity of the site and encourage native species.”

Volunteer and local resident Rose Hill said: “It is wonderful to finally see the site being used and looked after. It has been an eye-sore for so long. I can remember when it used to be allotments when I was a kid. It will be nice that the local kids will have somewhere to go and get involved with positive stuff.”

Mary added: “Although there is countryside right up to the city boundary, it can still be very hard for some people to access, especially if they do not have their own transport, are unemployed, on a low income or have a mental or physical health condition. It is for these people that city farms and community gardens really make a difference.

“The ethos of community gardens and city farms is that they are developed with and for the community, they are free for people to visit and involve a large amount of voluntary support from local people.”

The show garden is in the horticultural area at the showground, near the bandstand.